FLOOD09332

• County: Boulder
• Community: Boulder County
• Stream Name: North St. Vrain, St. Vrain Creeks
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Floodplain Information Report
• Date: 12/1/1987
• Prepared For: Boulder
• Prepared By: UDFCD
• Contract/PO #: &&
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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1921 FLOOD

Excerpt from the article appearing in:
"The Boulder County Miner and Farmer"

Thursday - June 9, 1921

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Excerpts from the article appearing in: "Longmont Ledger"
Friday - June 10. 1921

The Great

Rain

mont is almost completely cut off
from the outside by destruction of
roads and bridges and within the
city considerable damage was done
by a flood of the St. Vrain river
and a tremendous local rain storm
which turned the streets into
rivers of rushing water.

The County bears heavy loss in
bridges washed out and destruction
of road beds on many of the County
highways.

St. Vrain Canyon roads are closed
for a brief time with bridges out
and road beds damaged. The valley
roads are largely unpassable be-
cause of missing bridges.

To tell the story of the great
rain of Friday. June 3. and the
night following. one hardly knows
where to commence Or stop.

The report came to Longmont
Wednesday morning that the
Foothills Reservoir was in danger.
and that a large force of men with
sacks had gone up to mend the
damage. There was considerable
truth in the rumor for it seems to
be a fact that the ditch that
carried the water to this
reservoir was full and ordinary
means of stopping its flow did not
succeed. so the men were called
upon with the sacks to go and stop
the ditch. then the reservoir
would be safe. The report was
that the creek had changed its
course and was flowing into the
reservoir. which was not so. If
it had been the reservoir would
not have lasted five minutes.

Storm

South of main Longmont townsite, 1921.

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The rain storms of last week and
the latter part of the week before
brought huge damage throughout the
northeastern part of the state and
at Pueblo a tremendous flood in the
Arkansas and Fountain Rivers over-
ran the business section and low-
lands of the city and drowned a
large number of people. Latest re-
ports are 135 known dead and many
more not accounted for. Property
loss, it is conservatively stated,
will amount to $5,000,000.

In Boulder County, the Towns of
Lafayette and Erie were flooded.
Houses washed from their foundation
or filled with mud and water. Long-

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The heavy rain commenced about 2
o'clock Friday afternoon. and by
the next morning 4.4 inches had
fallen and by Monday morning 5.39.
according to the sugar company's
records. The first section of
rain was short but hard '"

The great mass of water was
caused by the overflow of ditches
which swept through the city from
northwest to southeast. and after
reaching Main Street ran down
Fifth Avenue to the alley from
Fifth Avenue to Fourth Avenue
between Kimbark and Emery Streets.

It has been said that if the
ditches had not carried off an
immense volume of water before
they overflowed Longmont would
have suffered a great deal more
than it did.

The auditorium has perhaps
suffered the most. Right in line
of the overflow of water from the
northwest it was soon in the
middle of a flowing lake. and the
inside of the auditorium filled
with water.

By the overflow of St. Vrain,
Commodore Walker has lost all his
buildings and his farm south of
the sugar factory. Barns and
sheds went first and then the
house commenced to topple over and
an attempt was made to save it but
of no avail.

By Tuesday morning. more rain
had fallen and the factory
records showed a fall of moisture
of 5.87 inches.

A bridge over a dry creek on
the main road south sunk. but some
real trouble occurred at the main
bridge Over the St. Vrain.

We have endeavored to obtain an
idea as to losses to crops. if
any. from excessive rains. and
find that there may be some wheat
knocked down. some beet fields
flooded so that the extent of
dsmage may Come out. We have
heard little or no complaint.
J.M. Anderson of Longmont reports
that he has twenty-five acres of
beets on Boulder Creek. that was
under water from two to three feet
on Tuesday.

The Peterson bridge a couple of
miles east of Lyons is in bad
shape one end of approach having
been washed out the same way only
worse. It is on the road from
Lyons to Boulder and cannot be
used.

The big bridge about five miles
ease of Longmont over the St.
Vrain after its junction with
Boulder Creek has gone out.

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